Kaoru… let's be together…
Those words kept echoing in Kaoru's mind.
She stared blankly at Kyusei, her heart in complete turmoil—so shaken that she didn't even notice Hiruzen Sarutobi arriving in a rush with a large contingent of ANBU, their killing intent thick in the air.
She had always thought that once she finally made up her mind, she would be the one to speak first.
She never expected him to be this direct.
This sudden.
Not even giving her a moment to prepare.
The blonde girl stood there in a daze, watching the boy in the distance calmly explaining everything to Hiruzen. For a moment, she didn't even know where to put her hands.
Hiruzen listened in silence, his expression growing darker by the second.
A traitor.
There was an insider in the village.
A handful of shinobi—at most special jōnin—had managed to slip into Konoha, accurately locate the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, and execute a clean extraction attempt.
That wasn't something a nobody could pull off.
This was someone with rank. With access.
"I understand," Hiruzen said coldly at last. "Kyusei, take Kaoru home. This matter will not end here."
Seeing Hiruzen's face dark enough to drip water, Kyusei wisely chose not to say anything more.
This wasn't the elderly Third Hokage from later years—this was Hiruzen in his forties, in his prime, at the height of his authority and temper.
Right now, Konoha was in its strongest era since the First Hokage.
Hiruzen himself, the so-called Konoha F4, the Three Sannin, the White Fang of Konoha, and even Kato Dan—whose true strength was still unclear.
At minimum, six Kage-level combatants.
What village could casually field six Kage-tier fighters?
On top of that, the major clans were thriving, manpower was abundant, and civilian shinobi numbers were overwhelming.
Konoha could comfortably fight two and a half villages at once.
Utterly terrifying.
Kyusei silently offered three seconds of condolences to Kumogakure.
Once Hiruzen took his people to deal with the Cloud ninjas' bodies, Kyusei finally turned back to Kaoru.
She was still standing there, dazed.
He blinked, then casually reached out and pinched her cheek—the part that still carried a hint of baby fat.
"Huh?"
Kaoru snapped out of the tangled mess of emotions in her chest.
"K-Kyusei…"
She lowered her head, face burning red, unable to look at him.
"What's wrong?" he teased gently.
"You look like your soul's wandered off somewhere."
He even bent down deliberately, leaning in to meet her flustered, darting eyes.
"I… you… just now…"
Showing all the composure of a startled deer, Kaoru fumbled over her words—yet she never once took a step back.
"Yeah," Kyusei said openly.
"Kaoru, can we be together from now on?"
"This is a confession, you know."
"I really, really like you."
He looked at her crimson face and found her unbearably cute.
This version of Kaoru—so flustered, so shy she looked like she wanted to crawl into her clothes—was something he almost never got to see.
Usually she wore that gentle smile, calm and composed, as if nothing in the world showed through her heart.
Seeing her like this felt… precious.
H-how can he say something so embarrassing so easily…
Kaoru couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze, her eyes drifting helplessly—
Until two hands suddenly cupped her face.
Kyusei leaned in close, forcing her to look straight into his eyes.
W-what is he trying to do…?
"Kaoru, don't you think this was fate?" he said softly.
"From being complete strangers, to the old Hokage arranging things.
Then Minato and Kushina appeared.
Two years together.
And tonight."
"You were the first to notice I was gone."
"Doesn't that sound like destiny?"
"Fate arranged this—so it has the final say."
"I'm serious. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul."
"Can you see what I'm thinking?"
He was so close. Too close.
Saying things far too sweet.
Her mind went completely blank, and she answered without thinking—
"You're… too close. I can't see clearly…"
Kyusei froze.
Then he took a few steps back, releasing her face, looking slightly awkward.
"Sorry… maybe I really was too sudden."
"I didn't give you any time to think…"
The moment he stepped back, Kaoru's heart clenched painfully.
Her body moved before her mind could catch up.
She lunged forward and grabbed his hand tightly.
"Okay!"
Kyusei blinked.
"I—I like you too!" she blurted out.
Under the moonlight, her face was flushed deep red as she gathered every ounce of courage she had.
"From the very first day I met you, I liked you!"
"But I don't know why—back then, you didn't like me!"
"You avoided me!"
"You ran away from me!"
Her breath grew uneven, as if every word took effort.
"But I always—!"
"I was always watching you!"
"Even later, when the Hokage arranged for me to stay by your side… even when you stopped avoiding me…"
Her grip on his hand tightened until it almost hurt.
"I was always… always…"
"Carefully staying by your side."
"I was scared…"
"Scared that the Kyusei who once wanted nothing more than to avoid me would suddenly be kind… and then suddenly become cold again…"
"Why…"
"Why did you treat me like that before…?"
"Did I do something wrong…?"
"I didn't… I didn't do anything…"
Tears spilled from her eyes, sliding down her pale cheeks, dripping from her chin and falling silently to the ground.
Kyusei stared at her, stunned.
He opened his mouth, trying to say something—anything—but no words came out.
Six years in this world, and this was the first time he felt completely helpless.
Every tear felt like it was falling straight onto his heart.
"Running away from me for no reason… then accepting me for no reason…"
"And now you're telling me you like me for no reason at all…"
"You're a jerk!"
Seeing the gentle, always-smiling girl break down like this—crying, shouting the pain she'd kept buried—
Kyusei finally understood.
He really had been cruel.
She wasn't Minato.
She was a girl.
She didn't have Minato's unyielding emotional resilience.
"I'm—"
Before he could finish, a rush of warm fragrance hit him as she threw herself into his arms, clinging to him with all her strength.
Her arms wrapped around him tightly. Desperately.
"If…" she said through sobs,
"If you ever dare to abandon me…"
"I'll kill you."
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